Just who is Shinyribs? It’s a sprawling nine, sometimes 10-piece cast, but ultimately it is the funky brainchild of Kevin Russell, who grew up in Beaumont, TX and Shreveport, LA, the cradle of the swamp pop and bayou R&B sounds that drip off his fingers like honey and hot sauce nowadays. Think Gulf Coast meets Muscle Shoals with strong pop-song structures. The evolution of Shinyribs came about when Kevin began playing a solo residency under that moniker - after an incident involving Russell buying a homeless woman a plate of ribs in a Houston club in the mid-2000s. “I was already a lover of New Orleans R&B from the ‘40s and ‘50s,” says Russell. “That music is some of my favorite music ever. Suddenly I realized I could play that style with these horns.” New album Transit Damage was produced by Grammy winner Steve Berlin (Los Lobos, Raul Malo, Deer Tick, Greensky Bluegrass), who helped shape the record and pushed Kevin to reach beyond the party band specs. The band’s celebratory bayou funk/R&B/soul sounds are leavened with Russell’s most personal songwriting yet, while still retaining the Shinyribs trademark need to get up and dance.